Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA, William Burns. The meeting was also attended by Director of the General Intelligence Service, Major General Abbas Kamel.

Spokesman for the Presidency, Counselor Dr. Ahmed Fahmy, said the meeting focused on the joint Egyptian-Qatari-American efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. It also reviewed the latest developments on the ground, underlining the crucial need for intensified efforts to restore calm and halt the military escalation. President El-Sisi underscored the dire humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which has led to widespread famine in the sector. The President stressed the desperate and imperative need for concerted international efforts, without any delay, to exert pressure for the immediate and unfettered flow of much-needed humanitarian aid and relief to all areas of the sector in adequate quantities.

During the meeting, there was an alignment in views with regard to the vital importance of protecting civilians and the gravity of the military escalation in the Palestinian city of Rafah, while categorically rejecting the displacement of the Palestinians from the lands. The President emphasized the need to work, in earnest, toward reaching a just settlement to the Palestinian cause, based on the two-state solution. President El-Sisi warned against expanding the cycle of the conflict in a way that jeopardizes regional security and stability.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Today, 7 April 2024, marks the 30th commemoration of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. On this solemn, tragic occasion, the European Union joins the Rwandan nation and its people in the remembrance of the over 1 million men, women and children who were murdered in a campaign of deliberate atrocities. The EU expresses its solidarity with the families and friends of the victims whose loss endures today. 

The EU honours the survivors and their families, whose daily bravery and resilience in face of this horror, continues to inspire the world. What the people of Rwanda have achieved over three decades in their national journey towards unity, reconciliation, justice, and the preservation of the memory of the Genocide against the Tutsi, is a lesson to the rest of the world. The transformation of Rwanda ever since in terms of governance, economic recovery, social cohesion and development is a remarkable achievement. The EU will continue to stand by the people of Rwanda and its transformation journey. 

The EU reiterates its unwavering commitment to the prevention of genocide and any crime against humanity across the world and to ensure full accountability. The EU stresses the importance of a united and sustained effort by the international community to learn the painful lessons of the past, and do the utmost to thwart the repetition of any such abomination, including by rejecting and fighting against xenophobia, as well as any forms of discrimination and hate speech targeting persons belonging to national, ethnic, racial or religious groups.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Council of the European Union.

President William Ruto has told doctors to understand that there is a limit to what the government can spend on their salaries and allowances.

Saying the government values the work doctors and interns play in the health sector, the President pointed out that the country cannot continue to live beyond its means.

“The resources we have are only sufficient to pay KSh70,000 for intern doctors. This is not a salary; it is a stipend for only one year. Afterwards, they will be employed,” he said.

The President explained that the government has the funds needed to absorb all the 1,500 doctor interns at KSh70,000 a month.

He made remarks on Sunday during church service at Africa Inland Church (AIC) Fellowship Eldoret, Uasin Gishu county. He was accompanied by First Lady Rachel Ruto.

President Ruto said the government is working towards reducing the country’s wage bill, which currently stands at 47 per cent, to the legal requirement of 35 per cent.

“We are spending KSh1.1 trillion of the KSh2.2 trillion revenue we collect every year to pay salaries and allowances. This is way above what we should be spending on salaries,” he said.

“As a nation, we must agree that we must live within our means. We cannot continue to spend the money we do not have,” he added.

The President announced that Kenya will host a conference to address the nation’s wage bill between April 15 and 17.

President Ruto said reducing the wage bill frees resources for the government to expand opportunities for the youth and adequately fund programmes such as healthcare and education.

He also said the government will reduce its budget from KSh4.2 trillion to KSh3.7 trillion.

The President said Kenyans must honestly discuss the issues affecting the country, promising to lead from the front.

He said the conversation he started on the benefits of subsidising production, and not production as was the case before, has borne fruit.

He said the country now has adequate food, leading to lower prices.

As a result of the government’s prudent decisions, the Kenya shilling has strengthened against the dollar, leading to lower fuel and electricity prices.

“I will continue the path of making the right decisions for the country because you can never be wrong if you make the right decisions even though they may not be popular or easy,” he said.

He also asked farmers to take advantage of the rainy season to grow food and help the country meet its food security goals.

“We intend to grow more food and reduce imports,” he said.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of President of the Republic of Kenya.

On this day in 1994, and for the nearly 100 days that followed, one million Tutsi children, women and men were killed by their fellow Rwandans.

Families turned against families, friends became foes, and a dark spirit of intentional and brutal violence engulfed a nation.

We will never forget the victims of this genocide. Nor will we ever forget the bravery and resilience of those who survived, whose courage and willingness to forgive remain a burst of light and hope amidst this dark chapter in human history. 

This year, we remind ourselves of genocide’s rancid root: hate.

We can draw a straight line between the senseless slaughter of one million Tutsi — as well as some Hutu and others who opposed the genocide — and the decades of hate speech that preceded it, enflamed by ethnic tensions and the long shadow of colonialism.

Today, around the world, the darkest impulses of humanity are being awakened once more by the voices of extremism, division and hate.

To those who would seek to divide us, we must deliver a clear, unequivocal and urgent message: never again.

On this solemn day of remembrance, let’s pledge to stand as one against all forms of hatred and discrimination.

Let’s ensure that the acts that began on April 7, 1994 are never forgotten — and never repeated. Anywhere.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).